Iran - Education

Literacy training has been a prime concern in Iran. For the year 2000,
adult illiteracy rates were estimated at 23.1% (males, 16.3%; females,
30.0%). A literacy corps was established in 1963 to send educated
conscripts to villages. During its first 10 years, the corps helped 2.2
million urban children and 600,000 adults become literate. In 1997,
there were 9,238,393 pupils enrolled in 63,101 primary schools, with
298,755 teachers. The student-toteacher ratio stood at 31 to 1. In that
same year, secondary schools had 8,776,792 students and 280,309
teachers. The pupil-teacher ratio at the primary level was 26 to 1 in
1999. In the same year, 83% of primary-school-age children were enrolled
in school. As of 1999, public expenditure on education was estimated at
4.6% of GDP.

Education is virtually free in Iran at all levels, from elementary
school through university. At university level, however, every student
is required to commit to serve the government for a number of years
equivalent to those spent at the university. During the early 1970s,
efforts were made to improve the educational system by updating school
curricula, introducing modern textbooks, and training more efficient
teachers.

The 1979 revolution continued the country's emphasis on
education, but Khomeini's regime put its own stamp on the
process. The most important change was the Islamization of the education
system. All students were segregated by sex. In 1980, the Cultural
Revolution Committee was formed to oversee the institution of Islamic
values in education. An arm of the committee, the Center for Textbooks
(composed mainly of clerics), produced 3,000 new college-level textbooks
reflecting Islamic views by 1983. Teaching materials based on Islam were
introduced into the primary grades within six months of the revolution.

The tradition of university education in Iran goes back to the early
centuries of Islam. By the 20th century, however, the system had become
antiquated and was remodeled along French lines. The country's 16
universities were closed after the 1979 revolution and were then
reopened gradually between 1982 and 1983 under Islamic supervision.

While the universities were closed, the Cultural Revolution Committee
investigated professors and teachers and dismissed those who were
believers in Marxism, liberalism, and other
"imperialistic" ideologies. The universities reopened with
Islamic curriculums. In 1997, all higher-level institutions had 40,477
teachers and enrolled 579,070 students. The University of Tehran
(founded in 1934) has 10 faculties, including a department of Islamic
theology. Other major universities are at Tabriz, Mashhad, Ahvaz,
Shiraz, Esfahan, Kerman, Babol Sar, Rasht, and Orumiyeh. There are about
50 colleges and 40 technological institutes.